


Shiro becomes an Alien Nanny

by Peggy_Cherepaha



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Galra Keith (Voltron), Kid Fic, baby!keith, more tags will be added as more is written
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-10
Updated: 2017-12-10
Packaged: 2019-02-12 22:28:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12969744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peggy_Cherepaha/pseuds/Peggy_Cherepaha
Summary: When they run into the Galra, Shiro finds himself becoming Baby Galra Keith's caretaker. However, Keith ends up helping Shiro as much as Shiro helps him.





	Shiro becomes an Alien Nanny

Shiro was half-Japanese and, as such, had been exposed to plenty of anime via his somewhat-obsessed Okaa-san. Yet despite her claim that being chosen for the amazing opportunity to travel into the deepest parts of space made him the main character in a real-life anime, he didn’t believe anything otherworldly could happen to him until that day.

“We could use those clues to become the first people to meet aliens,” Matt said as they were collecting an ice sample and, right on cue, a foreign spacecraft appeared in front of them straight out of Shiro’s apparently very real anime life.

Once Shiro came to his senses he reached out to grab Sam and Matt and pushed them towards their lander with a “Run!” He had no idea what the mysterious spacecraft could possibly be but he would at least feel safer in the lander with their radio.

When they got inside Sam grabbed he radio to contact command while Shiro and Matt looked out the small porthole. The spacecraft was about the size of theirs but looked like it was armed. As they watched, a lander detached from the craft and was descending rapidly to the surface. Shiro turned his attention to Sam who was getting more panicked as command tried to make sense of the situation.

“Shiro, look!” Matt said and he looked back at the window to find the lander already on the surface. The hatch opened and two people stepped out wearing what looked like suits from a sci-fi show and holding what could have been weapons.

“Shiro, Dad, are those aliens? What do we do?” Matt was also starting to panic and Shiro knew he had to step up and take control.

“Stay calm. Sam, keep command updated. Matt, stay by the controls in case we need to go back to the shop.”

The aliens were approaching but kept their weapons lowered. They stopped a few meters from the lander and the radio started to crackle.

“I’ve lost command!” Sam said. Before he could try to fix the radio, however, a new voice came on the feed.

“You are trespassing on satellite M894. State your purpose.” Sam and Matt looked at each other in bewilderment. Shiro took the radio from Sam.

“We are scientists from the planet Earth. We were not aware of the law and mean no harm.” The three men looked from the radio to the aliens outside as they waited.

“The Emperor has requested your presence. Please allow the drones to escort you.”

“Shiro, what does that mean? Should we try to escape?” Shiro considered their options. As the commanding officer he had the lives of Sam and Matt in his hands.

“We’re going to have to follow their orders for now,” Shiro said. “We don’t know what they’re capable of so I would rather play it safe.”

He could see how nervous his comrades were so he tried to appear calm as the drones approached. They were escorted from their lander to the alien one by the drones which, on closer inspection, seemed to be highly-advanced robots. Once inside, Matt tried to ask the robots questions but they remained silent as they ascended to the alien spacecraft.

They were then escorted through an empty hallway to a large, open room. An image of a strange, purple alien appeared on the far wall.

“I am emperor Zarkon of the Galra Empire,” the alien said, “we are not familiar with your species.”

“Please, we have no weapons,” Shiro said, “we are just scientists collecting samples.”

“Do not fear,” Emperor Zarkon said, “I am reaching out to you  to learn more about your species. Our Empire has formed alliances with many people across many galaxies. I assumed you were representatives from your planet, but I see now from my records that your planet has not made any contact with any other people.”

“Honestly,” Shiro said, “until now we thought we were the only intelligent lifeforms in our galaxy.”

“I see,” Emperor Zarkon said. “I invite you to come to our planet to have a diplomatic meeting. The drones will pilot you here, and you can use our devices to communicate with your people.”

Shiro looked to Sam and Matt, both of which were still taring stunned.

“We accept your invitation, Emperor, thank you.”

“Then we will meet in a few doboshes.” The screen went black and Shiro turned towards his comrades.

“I can’t believe this!” Matt yelled out with a huge grin. “Dad, Shiro, we found aliens! And we’re going to meet them! This is so amazing!” He gathered Shiro and Sam into a hug.

“We’re so lucky,” Sam said. “We found aliens  that seem to be peaceful. Just wait until everyone learns about this.”

Shiro leaned into the embrace, allowing himself to finally relax. Even if these Galra weren’t what they were expecting, it was much better than the murderous aliens from movies he feared.

They broke the embrace and Sam and Matt were gushing about their excitement when one of the drones approached them.

“Be seated and fasten your restraints,” the drone said, gesturing to the chairs along the wall. The three men followed the orders and the drone said, “prepare for wormhole jump.”

“Wormhole jump?” Matt asked. “Dad, do you think we’re really going through a wormhole?”

“I think that would be the least surprising thing about today,” Sam replied. Within minutes, the ship’s velocity let up, and the drones approached them again.

“Please follow us.” The three men got out of their seats and followed the drones back through the ship to the lander. Matt and Sam were talking excitedly during the descent but Shiro felt his anxiety come back at the strange situation they were in.

The lander was docked directly to a large stone building. The hallway they were escorted through was lined with robot guards. They reached a large conference room and found the Emperor they had seen before flanked by two similar-looking aliens. The Emperor was wearing purple robes while the other aliens wore skintight lack suits with purple armor. The aliens had purple skin, yellow eyes, and pointed ears. From there their appearances diverged, with one of them mostly covered in fur and a full head of hair while the other looked more scaly.

“Welcome, my guests,” Emperor Zarkon said. “Please be seated.” The aliens sat at the table and the three men followed suit.

“Allow me to first explain the situation to you,” Emperor Zarkon continued. “Ten thousand years ago, the Galra Empire formed an alliance with the Altean Kingdom with the purpose of bringing peace to the universe. The Altean Kingdom provides resource management and cultural preservation for planets while the Galra Empire provides security and protection. I am glad that your species has advanced this far. This means that we have a lot to learn from each other.”

“I agree, Emperor Zarkon,” Shiro said. “We were sent on this mission to look for evidence of alien life, so I guess we’ve been more than successful.” Sam and Matt chuckled at that and Emperor Zarkon smiled at him.

“Oh, we still haven’t introduced ourselves. I’m the commander, Shiro, and these are my team members, Dr. Sam Holt and Matt Holt.”

“If you would allow us, Emperor,” Sam said, “we could contact our command center on Earth so that our leaders can also be involved in our conversation.”

“Of course, I will have my engineers establish a connection.” Emperor Zarkon was cut off when the door behind him burst open and a purple, catlike alien scurried into the room chased by a Galra.

“Please, come back!” The Galra yelled and Shiro grabbed the small alien out of reflex when it ran past.

“Whoa, buddy,” he said as the alien hissed and flailed its limbs in his grasp. The alien looked like a toddler Galra, with furry, pointed ears and little claws.

“Hey, watch this buddy.” Shiro bounced the child up and down while making silly sounds. Soon the child stopped squirming and instead started laughing and grabbing for Shiro. After a few moments Shiro realized that everyone in the room was staring at him. He lowered the child who clung to his chest, still giggling.

“I haven’t seen him laugh since…” Emperor Zarkon said. “Well, I mean, none of the caretakers shave been able to connect with him.”

“My Emperor, I’m so sorry!” The Galra who had been chasing after the child said.

“It’s alright,” Emperor Zarkon said, “this may be for the best.” He then turned back to the humans. “Dr. Holt, Matt, my commanders will bring you to the communication room. Shiro, I would like to talk to you alone.”

Sam and Matt looked at Shiro, unsure, but he nodded to them and they followed the Galra to another room.

“Shiro,” Emperor Zarkon said once they were alone, “that is my second son, Keith. His mother died when he was very young, and since then he has become aggressive and his emotional development has stalled. I have struggled to find anyone he could connect with. We Galra are very perceptive, able  to tell a lot about a person’s feelings and intentions from the first meeting. Keith taking to you like this tells me that you are the one who can help him. I know you have chosen to be a scientist, but I beg you to give Keith a chance.

Shiro looked down at Keith who had buried his head in Shiro’s chest, his hyperactivity from before replaced with anxiety.

“I could never turn my back on someone who needs me, and I trust my comrades to be able to handle themselves. I would love to look after Keith.”

Emperor Zarkon game him a big smile. “That is wonderful to hear! You will still be able to help your comrades, of course, and there are many caretakers to help you. Allow me to show you to the children’s room.”

Shiro followed Emperor Zarkon escorted by two drones. Keith still clung to him but his ears were upright and pointed towards his father. Shiro figured that the Emperor probably didn’t have a lot of free time to spend with his son. They stopped at a par of doors that Emperor Zarkon opened to reveal a daycare with about ten Galra children and three adult aliens watching them.

“Acxa, this is Shiro, Keith’s new caretaker. His species is one we have only just learned about. I ask that you help mentor him.”

“I’m glad to, my Emperor.”

Emperor Zarkon reached out to Keith and ran a hand through his hair before leaving with the drones.

Shiro turned to Acxa, who looked human, save for her blueish-purple skin, and was quite attractive.

“It’s nice to meet you, Shiro. I was Keith’s not-so-successful caretaker. I’m glad our Emperor was able to find someone he can bond with.”

“I’m glad, too,” Shiro said. “To be honest, though, I feel a bit out of my depth. I’ve only ever looked after children of my own species and I don’t know the first thing about Galra.”

“No need to worry, I’m here to teach you. We were about to feed the children so let’s get them set up and then we can talk.”

Acxa and the other two aliens corralled the children to the tables and set out a selection of meats for them. Shiro sat Keith down on a chair and watched as he immediately grabbed as much food as he could hold in his little fists and tried to stuff it all in his mouth. Shiro was able to get a better look at the child. He was covered in soft, purple fur that thinned out near his face and hands. His ears were in the same position as a human’s but were shaped like a jackal’s: tall and wide with tufts of purple fur on the inside. His hands were human-shaped with small black claws but his legs were digitigrade and his feet were paws complete with cat-like pads. He also had what resembled a lion’s tail sticking out of his little black onesie. The tuft at the end of his tail was black, which matched the black hair on top of his head. The rest of the children looked similar to Keith but the adults looked like they were only part Galra.

Once all of the children were settled, Acxa came over to Shio.

“I guess I’ll just jump right in, then. This facility is one of many on the planet where children are taken care of and raised. Ours is specifically for children of the Emperor and others who live and work closely with him. Unlike some other species who raise their children alone, it is imperative that Galra children live together and are raised by a community. Galra develop their emotions and morals by living closely with and learning from each other. The three of us work here every day but you will see the parents visit often.

“As for taking care of the children, at this age we play games with them that help them develop motor skills and basic language. When they are playing with each other, they will settle arguments with physical fights. This is a Galra’s natural way of learning how to get along and we only intervene if they become violent enough to hurt each other.

“Your duties are basically to feed, bathe, and dress him. While playing, you should encourage him to play with the others.”

Shiro was silent for a few moments, trying to sort through all of the information.

“I guess it’s not too different from how we take care of human children,” he finally said.

“Of course, I will be here to guide you. I was actually chosen to watch Keith because I was raised with Lotor, his older brother. Although I obviously wasn’t completely successful.”

Shiro still had a lot of questions to ask Acxa but at that moment felt Keith pawing at his legs.

“Hello,” Keith said to Shiro.

“Hello Keith, I’m Shiro.”

Keith tilted his head to the side in confusion.

“Mrow?” Keith said, and Shiro’s heart melted at his cat-like cuteness.

“My name is Shiro.” Keith’s ear twitched and then he turned away to go find something to play with.

“As you can see,” Acxa said, “Keith has some trouble with language, preferring to only use words he knows well instead of trying to sound out new words.”

“Speaking of,” Shiro said as they followed after Keith, “how can we understand each other? I assumed aliens didn’t speak English.”

“All Galra buildings and ships have automatic and near-instant translators. Even if we come across a new alien, the translator can scan their memories to learn their language.”

“That’s amazing,” Shiro said. He made a mental note to talk to Matt and Sam about Galra technology when he next saw them.

He found Keith sitting alone with blocks of different colors and shapes. Shiro sat down next to him and watched as Keith tried to fit different pieces together.

“Hi, Keith. What are you playing with?”

Keith looked over at Acxa, who was playing with other children nearby, before looking at Shiro.

“Red,” Keith said, and handed a red block to Shiro.

“That’s right, what other colors do you have?”

Keith looked down at the blue block in his left hand in concentration. After a few moments of glaring at it, he put it down and picked up another red block which he handed to Shiro.

“Red,” he said.

Shiro spent the next few hours playing with Keith. He tried prompting him with new words but, like Acxa said, Keith stubbornly refused to repeat after him. Some of the other children tried playing with Keith but he would just hide behind Shiro’s back and growl at anyone who came too close.

Eventually, the children seemed to be getting tired as some were yawning and others were fussily wrestling toys away from each other. Acxa and the other caretakers herded the children down a hallway to a room that looked very similar to a Japanese bath house. Several adult Galra joined them and Acxa told him they were parents who had come to get their children ready for bed. Since no one approached Keith, it was Shiro’s job to bathe him. He helped Keith out of his onesie and lifted him into the shallow bath. Acxa handed him something that looked like coral but had a spongy texture.

“This is a plant that naturally produces a cleansing liquid. We scrub them with these and then bring them over to the showers to rinse off.”

Shiro squeezed the plant and a foam oozed out. He looked to Keith who had already gotten himself soaked. At that moment all of the events of the day finally hit Shiro full-force, tightening his chest with anxiety. He could feel himself getting lightheaded and he desperately tried to breath.

A small, wet hand touched his cheek and his focus snapped back to the child in front of him. Keith was looking up at him with his ears drooped down.

“Oh, sorry about that, buddy. Let’s get you washed.”

Keith dropped his hand from Shiro’s cheek but then leaned forward with both arms outstretched. Shiro pulled Keith against his chest, ignoring the wetness and instead enjoying the comfort of having someone to hold.

He gently pulled Keith away after a moment and was relived to see that none of the other adults were paying any attention to him. Shiro got to washing Keith, who tried to pull away when Shiro had to wash his face and ears, but otherwise didn’t seem to mind the bath. Afterwards, he rinsed Keith with a showerhead and then used a large towel to dry him off. All of the Galra children were left with all of their fur puffing out after drying off, which Shiro found absolutely adorable. Acxa, along with the two children she had bathed, led Shiro and Keith into the children’s bedroom. Instead of individual beds, the floor itself was padded and there were pillows and blankets strewn across the room. Acxa handed him a brush from a basket near the door.

“Usually,” she told him, “Galra children like to all lay together to get brushed and to sleep. The physical contact helps them relax. Keith, however, refuses to be near the other children and thus struggles to sleep. Hopefully you will be able to help him.”

Acxa went over to the other caretakers and children who had al gathered together with pillows and blankets in the middle of the room. He then looked over at Keith who was laying against the wall behind a pillow. His ears and eyes were peaking over the pillow watching the others like a poised cat. Shiro slowly approached and sat down next to Keith.

“Looks like you found a comfy spot, but don’t you want to be with your friends?” Instead of answering, Keith looked at the brush Shiro was holding and held out his hand. Shiro gave him the brush and Keith ducked behind his pillow. He repeatedly brushed the fur at the back of his neck with his eyes closed. His fur was pretty short so Shiro figured the real purpose of the brushes was to help the children clam down before bed.

After a while, the caretakers were tucking the children in and getting ready to leave. Keith put down his brush and yawned, showing off his tiny, pointed teeth. He curled in on himself and his breathing slowed. None of the children had pajamas so Shiro quietly grabbed a nearby blanket and draped it over Keith. The child jolted awake but Shiro shushed him and put his hand on the back of Keith’s neck where he had been brushing. Keith instantly calmed down and fell back asleep as Shiro gently pet him.

When he was sure Keith would stay asleep, Shiro got up and exited through the door the other caretakers had used. Acxa was waiting for him in the hallway.

“I’ve been instructed to bring you to where your friends are staying. I am incredibly thankful for your help today.”

“It’s not a problem, Acxa, I had a lot of fun. I would love to come back tomorrow.”

Acxa smiled at him. “You are always welcome, and the Emperor will be very grateful if you stayed on as Keith’s caretaker.”

“I have to ask, it seems like there’s something more going on with Keith that I don’t know about.”

Acxa’s smile disappeared.

“You’re right, Keith’s mother died not too long ago. It was hard on the while family, especially Keith. You see, Galra aren’t monogamous, as I know many species are. Emperor Zarkon had a relationship with Honerva, who is Lotor’s mother, and Akira, who was Keith’s mother. So the family is struggling to help Keith while also dealing with their own grief.”

“That’s…awful.” Shiro didn’t know what else he could say as he felt a lump form in his throat.

They stopped at a door and Acxa turned to him.

“All of us in the empire want to see the family happy again. I know you have no ties to the Galra, but Keith chose you for a reason, so we are all hoping you will be able to help him.”

“I will do everything I can, I promise.”

Acxa gave him a smile and Shiro took a breath and braced himself to see Sam and Matt.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time posting something that isn't already written, so I can't promise a schedule or even that it will be complete. I have future plans that will add tags and up the rating but I don't know if it will be in this or a sequel. Also, don't be surprised if the title and summary change. Feel free to ask me questions about this verse on my tumblr: peggy-cherepaha.tumblr.com/


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